Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target increased by research analysts at UBS Group to $236.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Stock Target Advisor reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential downside of 1.81% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.88.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $240.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $240.10 and a 200-day moving average of $233.39. The company has a market cap of $3.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $42,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.